Duke Basketball: Will the Blue Devils' Free-Throw Woes Lead to Losses?

Duke is a good shooting team.

From the field, the Blue Devils are hitting 49.7 percent of their field goals (No. 13 in the nation). From beyond the arc, they have hit 40.9 percent (No. 20 in the nation).

But put the Blue Devils on the free throw line with nobody putting a hand in their face and things "get interesting."

They get to the line a lot - 286 times in the first ten games (No. 4 in the nation).

The problem is that they can't consistently connect from the charity stripe.

After ten games, Duke is shooting 66.4 percent from the line. That puts them at No. 215 in the country, sandwiched between College of Charleston and Western Kentucky.

In six of the their ten games, the Blue Devils have failed to hit at least 70 percent of their free throws.

When the they lost to Ohio State, Duke shot 8-for-14 from the line (57.1 percent).

Saturday, when Washington made a late run and almost pulled off an upset at Madison Square Garden, the Blue Devils shot 27-for-44 (61.4 percent).

The two players who are going to the line the most are struggling.

Mason Plumlee (pictured above) has shot the most free throws on the team and it's been brutal.

In their last game, against Washington, MP2 shot an atrocious 2-for-11. On the year, the junior post player has made 24-of-63 freebies. That's a frosty 38.1 percent.

Austin Rivers (pictured right) has been at the line 56 times, making 38 of those attempts (67.1 percent). For a player as talented as Rivers, hitting two-thirds of your free throws is exasperating.

Sure, Seth Curry (93.8 percent) is money. The problem is that he only goes to the line about three times per game.

Because of MP2's FT shooting shortcomings, Coach K has to seriously consider pulling him off the floor late in the fourth quarter so that the Blue Devils' opponents don't put him on the line.

In-season, shooting mechanics can be reviewed and adjustments can be made. Putting in some extra time makes a difference.

If this free throw flaw isn't fixed, the final minutes of close games will be stressful and could result in unnecessary losses.